Interdisciplinary Studies of Literature, Arts and Humanities

Abstract The emergence of the imported literary genre of novel in Iran needs to be discussed from different points of view. With regard to the chronological proximity of the emergence of the Persian novel and the Persian serial novel in Iran, it seems that discussing the factors influential in the emergence of the Persian serial novel is important in clarifying other dimensions of the emergence of the Persian novel. The main question is “what kinds of impact did the non-novel forms, published in Iranian press from the beginning to 1922, have on the emergence of the Persian novel?”. To find an answer, the serial forms published in the period in question have been studied drawing on the poly-system theory and Watt's theory of formal realism. The corpus of the study was examined for the six main elements of the realist novel, including the plot, realistic descriptions, character, time, place, and language. Next, the relationship between those six elements and most types of non-novel, including historical, travelogue, biographical, and scientific serial novels, was examined. Considering the existence of these elements in the above-mentioned serial novels, it is possible to conclude that each one of them were influential in the emergence of the Persian novel.

Abstract Abstract

There is a close relationship between Comparative Literature and Translation Studies, especially in the domain of influence studies. The famous German poet, novelist and dramatist, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, from his early youth was somehow interested to the East, in the inclusive sense of the word, and regularly read the books, in different European national languages, on East and its people. While reading these miscellaneous books that he became acquainted with Muslims’ religious book, the Holy Quran, and greatly was influenced by it. This impact is quite conspicuous, notably, in his most comprehensive book of poetry, West- Eastern Divan (1819). The present paper tries, through the prism of Comparative Literature especially influence studies, to investigate historical and personal evidences. At the beginning Goethe’s familiarity with the Quran and its translations which he read are elaborated on. Later on, the twelve books of West- Eastern Divan and its long epilogue, Notes and Papers Written for a Better Understanding of Divan, are analyzed very precisely, and Goethe’s sources of inspiration are, one by one, identified and explained.

Abstract The study of the narrative of modernization in preeminent Persian novels is an interdisciplinary research linking communication sciences and fiction. In this research, a preeminent novel has been considered as an alternative medium which can display the current conditions of society in any period by recounting certain narratives. What is investigated in this study is the reflection of the modernization discourse as observed in the preeminent novels of the five decades (1960-2001). More specifically, this research seeks to demonstrate the functions of the novel as a medium in reflecting the concepts of modernization. To do so, the greatest novels of the five decades were selected through "Reputational Case sampling" and a survey conducted among experts, critics, writers, and literary journalists. As its methodology, the research draws on Narrative analysis, and specifically, on Gerald Prince's structuralist narratology. Based on the results of the study, modernization, which according to development theories, can be studied in a wide range of political, cultural, social, economic, and even psychological contexts, is observable in the narrated events of the selected novels. The narratives of these novels are in line with the current conditions of each period. Moreover, concepts such as, political development, political criticism and critique of politicians, socio-political rationality, religion, immigration, class divide, and women are present in all these novels.

Abstract Comparative literature can be considered as a medium for dialogue among different ways of thinking of different nations. Narratively, the dialogue is a textual means of focalization used by an author to concretize the events of the narrative, to get closer to the reader, to free up space for the reader's participation and to share private and public beliefs. The current research aims to use a comparative approach to examine the dialogues of Risalat al-Ghufran by Abul Alaa Ma'ari and "Asking for Forgiveness" by Sadegh Hedayat. To this aim, the paper, first, draws on the Gadamerian model to compare structures of dialogues, and secondly, it compares the function of this narrative structure employed by the two authors. Since Gadamer pays great attention to the role of dialogue in social communications, another benefit of employing this model would be for sociological readings of the two aforementioned narratives. The results of the current research indicate that the use of dialogue in these two works show common functions, including, a return to the past, characterization, telling instead of showing, expression of confessions, and the correction of misconceptions about the dead. Finally, "openness" as the foundational principle of the Gadamerian dialogues is seen in the dialogues of both works.

Abstract Rupert Goold's adaptation of Macbeth (2010) is relatable to some of the dilemmas of the contemporary human beings. In this comparative study, the relationship between the concept of power, images and staging, such as closed and dark spaces, costumes, and scene designs are examined. The present paper draws on Linda Hutcheon’s theory of adaptation and the analysis of the cultural, social and historical context to explain the significance of the film's scene design and spaces. It examines the ways in which new methods are employed to present socio-historical elements in the context of the primary source of the adaptation using Robert Stam’s intertextual dialogism model which helps us to find the relation between images and concepts presented in the film. Goold has attempted to reflect the contemporary situation by using new visual techniques. The paper concludes that similar instances of the exercise of power still exist in the contemporary times. Goold's adaptation is an attempt to make the silenced voices of today’s victims of surveillance and control heard.

Abstract The current research examines the relationship between form in cinema and the structure of ritual and archetypal systems based on Gilbert Doran's method of myth analysis. The main issue is how the creative forces of imagination and perception interact with visual forms. It is assumed that these processes, as kinds of aesthetic functions of cinema, are already involved with fixed, static and archetypal patterns, and the act of watching creates a mixed and interwoven space of aligned and opposite forces. This space, on one hand, is involved with external structures such as social systems and cosmologies of spectators, and on the other hand, is connected with internal systems such as archetypes, symbols, moral values ​​and beliefs. This research has developed a theoretical framework drawing on a descriptive and analytical method. Reflections on the film Lament of the Snow show that the formic aesthetic functions transform these relationships into a mixed and fluid space in which values ​​and concepts are created anew.

Abstract Sadegh Chubak highlights spaces outside the norm and accepted spaces in society in his fiction works, which is one of the prominent and distinctive features of his work. As a writer, a number of his fictional works are distinguished by the use of spaces like mortuaries, brothels, and animal stables as residences for characters, who mostly are prostitutes, outcasts, and poor or destitute women. Using an interdisciplinary approach, this article examines and analyzes Chubek's fictional spaces from the perspective of Michel Foucault's concept of heterotopia. Using feminist critical discourse analysis as a method of examining the identity of women within such spaces, I will show that Chubak's fictional works are heterotopic spaces of resistance and struggle by depicting heterotopic spaces of deviation and representation of female identity and gender. These spaces, in fact, aim to criticize and condemn the society that has caused the growth and emergence of anomalies and discrimination in relation to women's rights.

Abstract One of the cases of research in the field of comparative literature is the study of cinematic adaptation. The scope of the present article is the study of John Rawlins' special interpretation of One Thousand and One Nights in the form of its recreation in the movie Arabian Nights (1942). This movie, which is named after the book, One Thousand and One Nights, has distanced itself from One Thousand and One Nights and has distorted it. This distortion or change inheres in the adaptation because Rawlins does not want to be completely faithful to the story and practically sacrifices fidelity to his creativity. The main issue of the research is that since the director of the film is a Westerner who represents the East, the question is whether this change is ideological and the film should be examined in the field of Orientalism studies. Has he distorted the East? The results of the research show that Rawlins has completely metamorphosed Shahrazad's character and introduces her as a female dancer who dances for Arabs and enchants them with her dance. Rawlins maybe interpreted as to have distorted the East and through this distortion of the East Rawlins maybe interpreted as to have presented stereotypical and negative images of the Orient. Rawlins’s adaptation maybe interpreted to portray the Orientals as autocrats, law-breakers, emotional, superstitious and authoritarian people.

Abstract The purpose of the present article is to study two novels, A Shawl as Long as the Silk Road by Mahasti Shahrokhi and A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers by Xiaolu Guo through Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak's perspective in her "Can the Subaltern Speak?". This descriptive-analytical research adopts a postcolonial approach to view the above mentioned novels comparatively with a view to elements and concepts such as language, marginalized other, Eurocentrism, patriarchy, ignoring female agency, subalternity, impossibility of self-expression for women, female dependency and the need to form a family and gain socio-economic status. The study shows that both protagonists are neglected in their destination country and in their romantic relationships, and their self-confidence is lowered. They cannot obtain a proper social standing, nor are they accepted in the society; they are always reminded of their difference from others in order to establish their subalternity. Despite being encouraged by their lovers to live according to a European lifestyle and their occasional success to follow the advice, Katayoun and Tswang still remain as "others" and outcasts who do not even have the power and voice to express themselves. Although both of these women try to express their opinions, at least in their personal romantic relationships, their condition and people's attitude towards them would not change as a result of this articulateness. In the end, neither of them succeeds completely. At best, they have been able to express how the Subaltern does not have the opportunity to speak out or to be heard. Even if she has gained knowledge about her status and conditions and strives to achieve her goals, the concerns of the Subaltern woman are not of much value- at least- from either the perspective of an imperialist system or that of a patriarchal society.

Abstract Comparative literature is considered as one of the most important fields of research in humanities, and studies on feminism and women writers from different nationalities can offer important contributions to the field. The classic novel Herland by Charlotte Perkins Gilman is considered a pioneering American feminist work. From a comparative perspective, the Iranian novel, The Gray Curse by Mahsa Mohebali has a thematic similarity with Perkins Gilman’s novel. Both authors have portrayed a feminist utopia whose inhabitants are only women, and for whom, motherhood is fulfilled only through parthenogenesis. This similarity as well as the content and thematic correspondence are among the reasons for selecting these novels for the present study. The researchers use qualitative content analysis method within the framework of feminism to analyze these novels’ representations of the concept of Parthenogenesis through their description of a utopia. To do a comparative study of the similarities and motifs in the two narratives with a focus on the concept of parthenogenesis, the paper draws on three elements: misandry in utopian thinking at the beginning of the novels, parthenogenesis as a necessary concept in utopian thinking, and finally, moving away from the utopian thinking and a refusal of the parthenogenesis. Despite the commonality of the content and thematic elements, distinctions in political, social and cultural contexts between the two nations create a difference in Gilman's and Mohib Ali's views on the concept of parthenogenesis throughout the novel, with the former's offering more in-depth and the latter's fleeting views on the concept.

Abstract Grotesque is a type of visual expression that allows the artist to express his or her desired concepts in a different way in art by creating a strange, unusual and unrealistic visual identity. The definition of specific characteristics for the grotesque in art is one of the topics of interest to theorists and has been examined from different perspectives. The current research aims to comparatively analyze selected paintings from Bahman Mohassas (1931-2010) and shots from the movie Songs from the Second Floor by Roy Anderson (2000) through the lens of Mikhail Bakhtin's grotesque theory (1895-1975). It adopts an interdisciplinary approach to seeks their commonalities according to the characteristics considered by this Russian philosopher. The method used in this research is descriptive-analytical. Despite the paucity of research on the grotesque in visual arts, the results indicate that given their different cultural roots, both artists have made good use of the characteristics introduced by Bakhtin and that they share commonalities in this respect

Abstract Golbon (1935-2013) is the first compiler who collected all the writings of Fatimeh Sayyah (1902-1948), a Russian-born Iranian literary scholar, and published them in one volume based on the recommendation of A. Sami'i. In this book, he calls her "the founder of Comparative Literature in Iran". I have shown that this is a wrong assumption. Although I appreciate her efforts in the development of literary studies, Golbon, who was not familiar with the basic tenets of Comparative literature, had mistakenly made an unsubstantiated claim. Based on the theories of Comparative Literature I have analyzed the discourse and the content of Sayyah's writings. Golbon was a cataloger and did not have any solid conception of Comparative Literature. Sayyah herself never claimed that she is a comparatist and, in fact, her education was on French literature in Moscow University. Besides, She was not even familiar with her contemporary Russian comparatists including Veselovsky and Zhimunsky.What is important is that Golbon's wrong assumption has had a negative influence on the future generations of Iranian comparatists, i.e. anybody with the least familiarity with Comparative Literature, has, thus, entered this rather new discipline and, as a result, has made grave misunderstandings on the nature and function of comparative studies in Iran. Thus after almost seventy years, Comparative Literature, under the auspices Persian Literature, has not been able to burgeon and achieve a prominent position internationally which it deserves.